Mondays

Monday is the first day of the workweek in many Western countries and a widely observed day of routine. In calendars that start the week on Monday, it marks the beginning of the standard work cycle; in others, Sunday is considered the first day and Monday is the second. The name Monday derives from Old English Monandæg, from the Latin dies lunae, meaning the Moon's day. The Moon’s association is reflected in many languages, such as French Lundi, Spanish Lunes, Italian Lunedì, and German Montag, all ultimately referring to the Moon.

Culturally, Monday is often linked to the return to work or school after the weekend, and the term Monday blues denotes low mood or motivation at the start of the week. Public and private schedules typically phase into work on Monday in many countries, though some nations use four-day workweeks or observe Friday–Sunday weekends. In religious calendars, Monday is not universally a special holy day, but devotional practices may assign specific themes to each weekday in some traditions.

Economically, there is discussion of a Monday effect in stock markets, where some studies report weaker performance on Mondays. Linguistically, the name of the day follows a common pattern globally: most languages reference the Moon, the Sun, or a classical deity associated with the day.

Today, ISO 8601 designates Monday as the first day of the week for its numerical week date system, influencing many software calendars. Global practice varies, reflecting regional work patterns and cultural norms. See also Week, Workweek, Weekend, Monday blues, Monday effect.